In The Company of Friends

Artist: Denise Donatelli
Label: Jazzed Media
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 820637029027
EAN: 0820637029027
ASIN: B0009Q6RTI

Release Date: 2005-06-07

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Tracks:

On Green Dolphin Street
The Thrill Is Gone
Round Midnight
You Don't Know What Love Is
A Sleepin' Bee
Send In The Clowns
This Is New
If You Could See Me Now
Dream Dancing
A Roarin' Borin' Alice
When Summer Turns To Snow

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Customer Reviews:

In the Company of Friends.......2006-03-09

Denise Donatelli is my daughter's godmother and she was born and raised in Allentown, PA where I live. We were good friends for a long time and I just had to buy her cd. She has an excellent voice and is now living in Hollywood California. If you like jazz buy this cd.

Another very impressive debut.......2005-10-04

My attention to this album, by an artist with whom I was totally unfamiliar, was drawn by raves on the cover and in the liner notes from Tom Scott, Phil Woods and Mark Murphy. If these guys rave, this artist must be sensational, right?

My verdict: in time, she really could be. For now, this is a very impressive debut album.

As with many debut albums by jazz chanteusses, Ms. Donatelli has chosen the relatively safe route of sticking with the Great American Songbook. Not entirely, though: the one original, Tom Garvin (p.)'s "A Roarin' Borin' Alice" is probably the highlight of the album. As you might guess from that title, the song is hilarious, reminiscent of Jon Hendricks' "Gimme That Wine" or Mose Allison's "Your Mind's On Vacation".

But what sets this album apart from most vocal jazz debut albums are the charts. We have some unique stuff here: "On Green Dolphin Street" done in 5/4 time; "You Don't Know What Love Is" recast to a rhumba beat; "Dream Dancing" done to a samba beat; and a cool scat in unison with the horns on "This Is New." The album as a whole is very well recorded, with nice balance between the horns and the rhythm section.

As for Ms. Donatelli, she doesn't have a particularly big or rich voice; but she has a very pleasing, sensual tone, and her phrasings and intonation are as good as most seasoned old pros. If I had a constructive critique to make, it is that at the end of some phrases, her voice cuts into a wide vibrato that is somewhat distracting. I think that could be fixed with a good vocal coach, however.

The album strikes me at a 4-5 range. I give it a 5, because I've heard a lot of really good jazz singers over the years improve from a very promising starting point. I look forward to Ms. Donatelli doing the same, and encouragement is a good thing. RC

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